Acts 18:12-17

18:12 Now while Gallio1 was proconsul2 of Achaia,3 the Jews attacked Paul together4 and brought him before the judgment seat,518:13 saying, “This man is persuading6 people to worship God in a way contrary to7 the law!”
18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak,8 Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy,9 I would have been justified in accepting the complaint10 of you Jews,1118:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement12 about words and names and your own law, settle13 it yourselves. I will not be14 a judge of these things!”
18:16 Then he had them forced away15 from the judgment seat.1618:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue,17 and began to beat18 him in front of the judgment seat.19 Yet none of these things were of any concern20 to Gallio.

1snGallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51-52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, ed., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July-October a.d. 51.

2sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

3snAchaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).

5tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.

snThe judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city. So this was a very public event.

7tnGrk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.

14tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.

15tnGrk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (aphlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.

20tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”

sn Rome was officially indifferent to such disputes. Gallio understood how sensitive some Jews would be about his meddling in their affairs. This is similar to the way Pilate dealt with Jesus. In the end, he let the Jewish leadership and people make the judgment against Jesus.